Cretan-born Chef Matt Tsistrakis earned his chops at top London restaurants, including roles as Head Chef at The Savoy and Auriens Chelsea. He has now taken on a new challenge: leading the kitchen at The Gallery which overlooks the Grand Prix circuit at iconic race ground, Silverstone.
This year, Christmas officially came early for our Creative Director – and confirmed speed freak – Dan Spindler who went along to check out Matt’s innovative new menu after first ‘sampling’ a hot lap around the world-famous circuit.
“I like going fast, it's great, but this was another level…We started the day with coffee in The Gallery, which is upstairs in the hotel, Escapade. As soon as you walk into the restaurant it’s a wow. It’s very contemporary looking, with a glass wall looking straight out onto the race track. If you’re a motor racing fan, there's nothing else like it in the world: it really was breathtaking. The other walls are filled with racing-themed art, plus there are big monitors on the wall showing the Grand Prix.
We were led down to the garages at the pit stop, given a crash helmet each and told that we would be going round with a professional driver in the McLaren. When it was my turn, I crouched down – almost to the floor – to get into the car and put the harness on. The driver gave me the thumbs up, accelerated, and my eyeballs went in the back of my head – brilliant.
I wasn't scared, because I had 100% faith in his abilities as a driver, but the G force was quite immense. We went around the course twice and it was one of the most exciting things I've ever done. When we pulled up and I got out there was smoke coming off the brake pads, the wheels were literally glowing.
After we been on the driving experience, we were shown around the hotel to have a look around in the apartments which were very luxurious and modern. I detected a bit of a 50s nods to futuristic, or to be more accurate, what people in the 50s thought the future would be like.
Our lunch in the Gallery really was a feast for the eyes. Chef Tsistrakis describes his food as ‘simple, fresh and uncluttered dishes, showcasing the finest seasonal ingredients’ and I can only agree. The presentation of the food was wonderful. I almost didn’t want to eat it as I didn't want to spoil the look of it, but it was all delicious and I tried some things I wouldn’t normally order or had never had before which was really exciting. I particularly enjoyed the barley risotto with wild mushroom and truffle. I’m a big risotto fan but this was like nothing I’d had before. The flavours were just delicious.
I was there with my son but as I was the designated driver I had to stick to the mocktails. However, that wasn't a bad thing, because they were fantastic. Like the wine pairings, they complemented the food perfectly. I definitely didn't feel hard done by.
All in all, for petrol heads and foodies, it's like heaven”.
The Gallery Restaurant & Bar is open to all for breakfast, lunch and dinner with its seasonally updated menu, centred around nutrition and sustainability. Currently serving up The Festive Menu, highlights include duck liver parfait with clementines and granola; braised beef cheek with creamed potato and red wine jus; barley risotto with truffle and wild mushrooms; and a showstopping triple threat chocolate dessert of dark chocolate souffle with white chocolate custard and chocolate crumble.
For bookings and more information visit escapade.silverstone.co.uk/eats-drinks
